Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
Some background: Early 30s, no programming experience. Interested in starting with Python as that is the language that has the most intuitive syntax for me, and because of its obvious popularity in the AI/ML world.
Questions: 1) Is it too late to become a software engineer at FAANG or other companies with similar compensation? Money is not the only driving factor, but it is helpful. Assume a reasonably motivated individual, but no prior programming experience and minimal math experience.
2) If it is not too late, what would be a well-delineated roadmap for someone to become a software engineer (courses/textbooks/math/etc) that is interested in AI/ML/GenAI? Currently going through CS50 Programming with Python.
3) Do AI/ML/GenAI jobs typically want a Masters/PhD CS grad? What other areas of software engineering are interesting and/or underexplored?